Female-to-male: I live on farming

Chapter 141 Combined into 1

That’s right, the person leading the team is Li Nanqiao.

The onlookers saw that the visitor had also posted a notice on the bulletin board.

"What soldiers...announcement?" a middle-aged man who had attended a private school for a few years stretched out his fingers and read out each word.

Although he didn't recognize the first word on it, others also guessed what the first word he didn't read out was.

"General, are you recruiting soldiers?" someone in the crowd asked.

Li Nanqiao, who was called Junye, was obviously not used to this title, but now was not the time to get hung up on it. Facing the curiosity of the people, Li Nanqiao put one hand on his sword and explained loudly, "That's right, but this time the army is only recruiting women. Unmarried women between the ages of fifteen and twenty can sign up."

"What?! Recruiting women?"

"Did I hear correctly? I have never heard of a precedent of women being able to serve in the army." The man who spoke realized something was wrong as soon as he finished speaking and looked at Li Nanqiao timidly.

"Yeah, can women fight in wars? It's so dangerous! Who would let their daughters join the army? How can they find a husband if they join the army?"

"But it says that the benefits of being a soldier are much better than working. Not only is food and accommodation provided, but there is also a salary every month."

Fortune and wealth are achieved through risk. Some people may question it, but naturally there are also people who are tempted.

"That's true. If you have nowhere else to turn and can't even get enough to eat, why would you care about getting married or not?"

A girl in tattered clothes at the back of the crowd heard everyone's discussions and lowered her head silently.

She fled from Yizhou with her parents. Their house was crushed by the snow, and they had little food left, not even firewood for heating.

All the newer and warm clothes in the family were given to her younger brother, and she only had tattered clothes to wear. The cotton coat she was wearing now was given to her for free by the government after she arrived in Liangzhou.

Now that the family has no source of income, it will be very difficult to settle down in Liangzhou. Even if they settle down here, everything in the family will belong to their younger brother. She had already witnessed this when they were fleeing famine on the road.

All the remaining food in the house was used to feed her younger brother. If she hadn't been relying on one breath, she would not have been able to get here at all.

Since she cannot completely rely on her family, maybe it is time for her to find a way out for herself. Perhaps joining the army is a good choice, which will allow her to have enough food and a place to live, and she will not be displaced.

She is not the only one with a similar fate. She is just one of the thousands of miserable women. This is just a microcosm of what happened after the announcement.

Before coming here, Li Nanqiao had heard General Xiao's advice that this was the first time in this dynasty, or even since ancient times, that women were recruited into the army, which would certainly cause criticism and doubts from the people.

And the process will not be smooth, so Li Nanqiao should be mentally prepared.

Ever since Xiao Anyi heard Qin Ke mention the idea of ​​forming a women's army, he had taken the matter to heart. He thought about it secretly for a long time before he sorted it out and wrote a memorial to present to Her Royal Highness the Princess.

His Highness summoned her to discuss the matter secretly for a long time, agreed to her proposal, but told her to implement it at the right time.

This was the right time chosen by Xiao Anyi. She specially checked the records of the disaster-stricken people entering the city through the city gate. Among them were many orphans and widows, many girls of suitable age to join the army, and disaster victims who were wandering around without enough food or warm clothes. As long as they were given a way to survive, they would do anything.

Of course, she didn't want to try to take advantage of everyone at once. As the first female army of the Great Yan Dynasty, she would recruit as many as she could, and she specially sent Li Nanqiao to do this.

It is just to let others see that women can also lead the army. With Li Nanqiao as an example, it will surely give many hesitant women some confidence.

Li Nanqiao listened to the discussions in the crowd and said loudly: "If you have any ideas, you can go to the southwest corner of the city to sign up. I will be waiting for you there."

After saying that, he took his people away.

……

Qin Ke originally wanted to go and see how the work-for-relief policy was being implemented in the city.

Relying solely on aid from the government office was not a long-term solution. In order to provide a way out for the victims in desperate situations, not only the government office but also the Gu family shop provided many jobs.

Interested victims came to the resettlement site according to the instructions. After registering, they were assigned tents with braziers, cooking cakes, ceramic bowls and jars. They were then assigned different tasks according to different jobs.

When Qin Ke followed Lu Youqing to inspect, they found that there were many more disaster victims coming to Liangzhou than in the previous few days, and the temporary tents that had been built were already full.

At the beginning, only a few people came to Liangzhou. Most of them came here because they heard that the living conditions of the people in Liangzhou were getting better and better, so they came here to live with their relatives.

Later, the disaster situation in Yizhou did not improve at all. Merchants took advantage of the disaster to make a fortune. Faced with the ever-increasing prices of food and charcoal, ordinary people could not afford it at all, but the governor of Yizhou did not care at all.

After they had eaten all the food stored in their homes, they could only eat tree roots. Later, they could no longer survive and heard that there was a way to make a living in Liangzhou, so they followed the crowd and came to Liangzhou in waves.

They originally just wanted to survive, but they didn't expect that after arriving in Liangzhou, they would be able to live in warm tents.

Moreover, the government office would assign them work and pay them wages. The more they worked, the more wages they would get.

With money, they can buy bedding, clothes, and various kinds of food. The government stipulates that no shop is allowed to increase prices arbitrarily, and sets price standards for them, so they have no problem maintaining basic food, clothing, housing, and transportation. What's more, if you want to settle down in Liangzhou, after reporting to the government office, they will also help you find a suitable village to settle down.

The work is not limited to men, women, young or old. If you are good at needlework, you can go to the needlework area to do needlework. Even children can do some simple work to earn money.

Seeing that they could live well here, they spread the news to the nearby villagers, and more and more disaster victims came here.

"It seems to be on the right track now. It will end when the weather gets warmer." Qin Ke followed Lu Youqing, opened the tent and looked at the people busy working inside.

Lu Youqing nodded imperceptibly and said softly: "Your suggestion is very good, otherwise it will be a big burden for the grain depot in Cangwu City."

"No, I just mentioned a word." Qin Ke waved his hand, "You decided the specific plan, and the implementation was done by the people below."

Lu Youqing knew that he didn't want to take the credit, so he didn't say anything.

Everyone they met on the road bowed to Lu Youqing with gratitude and respect, and Qin Ke also enjoyed the same treatment.

"Of course, my lady, you are very popular among the people now." Qin Ke gently touched Lu Youqing's shoulder, smiled and whispered in her ear.

Lu Youqing nodded gently to the officer on duty next to him. He remained calm when hearing Qin Ke's jokes. He said softly, "For the common people, they love whoever gives them a good life. Strictly speaking, they are very simple."

Qin Ke nodded and agreed with it.

He was once an ordinary commoner who couldn't be more ordinary. He didn't care about the struggles of the upper classes at all. He only cared about his own piece of land and could understand their thoughts very well.

He had never imagined that one day he would step into the upper class and be able to dominate their destiny.

After following Lu Youqing on a comprehensive inspection, the two prepared to return home.

"Madam, let's go back." Qin Ke said gently, holding the woman beside him.

Lu Youqing nodded. Her pregnancy was becoming more and more obvious, and the clothes she wore were all loose. She had to be careful when walking to avoid bumping into things and hurting the baby, so they walked very slowly.

"Hey, lady, look, isn't that Nanqiao?" When Qin Ke and the others walked to the southwest corner, they saw Li Nanqiao's figure from afar.

Who made her the tallest and most eye-catching among the group of people?

Following Qin Ke's instructions, Lu Youqing saw a group of people gathered there.

"Come on, let's go take a look."

When they approached, they saw several young women surrounding her. Judging from the clothes they were wearing, they were obviously disaster victims who came here from Yizhou.

The cotton-padded clothes distributed by government offices to the victims were of uniform style, which was very obvious.

"My lady, my lord."

Li Nanqiao also saw the people coming, and hurriedly asked the person next to her to take over her task and took two quick steps forward.

"Is this... the recruiting office?" Lu Youqing saw the flag standing next to the table.

"Yeah." Li Nanqiao nodded.

Lu Youqing had also heard about the princess' plan to form a women's army before, but she did not pay too much attention to it. After all, it was a military matter, and now that she was pregnant, she did not have the energy to pay attention to so many things.

"So how is the registration going? Are there a lot of people?" Qin Ke was a little curious. Even in modern times, there are not many women who choose to join the army. She wondered what it was like in ancient times.

Li Nanqiao shook his head in frustration, turned his head and glanced at the registration office, shook his head and whispered, "The situation is not very good. There are very few people signing up. According to the seniors in the team, compared with the previous recruitment situation, this year can only be described as dismal."

Qin Ke smiled and patted her shoulder. He didn't expect that she was now wearing hard armor, which felt cold and hard to the touch.

"Don't be discouraged. Forming a women's army is the first of its kind in the world. It challenges the secular world, and the people will definitely not accept it for a while."

Lu Youqing also added: "Besides, the people of Liangzhou are now living a prosperous life. If they are not forced to do so, they will rarely let their daughters join the army."

"That's right, so most of the people who have signed up now are disaster victims from Yizhou." Li Nanqiao said in a deep voice. This was the reason why Xiao Anyi chose to recruit soldiers at this time.

Normally, only when war comes will most ordinary people be forced to join the army to protect the safety of themselves and their families.

However, if this were the case, Li Nanqiao would rather never be able to recruit enough soldiers than see these innocent people forced into the vortex of war.

"Take it slow." Qin Ke sighed and said softly.

They chatted for a while, and seeing that Li Nanqiao had something important to do, Qin Ke and the others didn't stay long.

……

At this time, the Princess's Mansion welcomed an envoy from the capital.

An eunuch stood on the steps with a golden scroll of imperial edict in his hand, his face solemn and a hint of awe in his eyes.

Slowly unfolding the imperial edict, his voice was clear and loud, echoing throughout the mansion: "In compliance with the will of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims that my eldest daughter, Jinyang, is skilled and generous, of noble status, and outstanding in appearance. Now the second son of the Pei family has reached the age of twenty, with good conduct, and is the right age for marriage. It can be said that he and Jinyang are made for each other. In order to make the beauty of the beautiful woman come true, he will be married to the eldest princess of Jinyang. All the ceremonies will be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Supervisor of the Imperial Observatory, and an auspicious date will be chosen for the wedding. This announcement will be made to the whole country and abroad. I decree this."

Jinyang knelt on the ground, lowered his head and listened to the contents of the imperial edict and the eunuch's voice echoing in the mansion. Every word seemed to carry a heavy weight, like a mountain pressing down on people and making it hard to breathe.

Her hands, hanging at her knees, were clenched tightly, trembling slightly from exerting too much force, with veins visible on the back of her hands and between her fingers.

After the reading was finished, the eunuch rolled up the imperial edict and saw that the princess had not moved. He reminded her softly, "Your Highness, please accept the edict."

Jinyang finally stood up slowly and stretched out her hand to take the imperial edict. No matter how turbulent her heart was, there was still no expression on her face.

The eunuch watched the princess take the imperial edict and noticed that her eyes were as dark as ink and gloomy. At first glance, they seemed unfathomable and it was impossible to guess her emotions.

"I understand. Thank you, eunuch." The eldest princess' voice was low and calm, and her eyes were as cold as ice. In her eyes, there seemed to be countless emotions surging, like a volcano about to erupt.

The secretary could naturally see that the prince was in a bad mood, so he hurriedly led the eunuch downstairs to rest.

"Father, you forced me to take this path." She raised her head and looked at the overcast sky and murmured softly. It seemed as if she was covered by a layer of gray gauze. The sunlight shining through the clouds seemed dim and powerless, giving people a feeling of oppression.

Just like Jinyang’s mood at this moment.

After sending away the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict, everyone in the Princess's mansion acted extremely cautiously. Anyone who was not blind could see that Her Highness was in a particularly bad mood and was afraid of being caught in a trap.

After taking a shower, Gu Lanxi stepped into the bedroom. Jinyang raised his head and smiled, "Are you done?"

Gu Lanxi couldn't laugh, so she took the initiative to sit next to her and snuggle in her arms, reaching out to touch the corner of her lips: "If you don't want to laugh, don't laugh. It's ugly."

There was deep heartache in his tone.

The corners of Jinyang's mouth, which were originally upturned, slowly fell down, and he pursed his lips tightly, with a complex and unpredictable look in his eyes.

"In the future, don't smile in front of me if you don't want to." Gu Lanxi pretended to be angry and pulled her cheek.

Jinyang let her move without moving. When he felt the movement of her hand on his face become lighter, he raised his hand, held it in his hand and gently kneaded it.

(I am too lazy to separate the chapters today, so I combined two chapters together.)